Screen for a terrarium

ABSTRACT

A terrarium or the like for use in cultivating and exhibiting plants having a transparent container with a transparent closure member sealing said container, an aluminum mesh screen dividing the interior of said container into a first and second area, the first area being located below the screen when the container is in its orientation of use, the first area containing moist soil, the side of said screen adjacent said second area having decorative cover attached thereto and plants with roots extending into said soil through said ground cover and the screen.

United States Patent [191 Clark SCREEN FOR A TERRARIUM [76] Inventor:Earl R. Clark, P. O. Box 914,

Graham, Tex. 76046 2,2 Filed: Feb. 28, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 229,688

[52] [1.8. CI 47/34.]1, 215/100, 215/47 [51] "Int. Cl A013 9/02 [58]Field of Search 47/34, 37, 41.11,-

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,361,029 10/1944 Heinl47/37 3,147,569 9/1964 Murgvia 47/37 2,639,549 5/1953 Wubben et a]. .147/12 FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS 1,416,594

9/1964 France 47/34 .1111 3,753,314 [451 Aug. 21, 1973 PrimaryExaminer-Robert E. Pulfrey Assistant ExaminerR. T. Rader Attorney-JohnF. Booth 571 ABSTRACT 5 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION The present invention relates to terrariums and the like andmore particularly to new and improved terrariums of the sealed typehaving a mesh screen attached to the interior of the terrarium to spanacross the terrarium.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART In the study of the growth of plants insealed transparent containers such as terrariums, it has been a generalpractice to assemble-these devices by first placing a quantity ofgranular material of a desired moisture content in a transparentcontainer, then inserting plants into this material and finally sealingthe open end of the container. Although such devices have served theirpurpose, they have not proved entirely satisfactory under all conditionsof service for the reason that considerable difficulty has beenexperienced when terrariums are moved or bumped due to the fact that theplants and granular material can be dislodged or uprooted. Also,difficulties have been encountered in anchoring and supportingdecorative covers on the surface of the soil without affecting thegrowth of the plants in the terrarium.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The general purpose of this invention is toprovide an improved sealed terrariam which embraces all of theadvantages of similarly employed sealed terrariums and possesses none ofthe aforementioned disadvantages. To attain this, the present inventioncontemplates the use of a unique non-corrosive mesh screen mounted inthe interior of the sealed terrarium whereby the granulr material isretained in place in the terrarium and on which decorative cover can besupported and attached.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is theprovision of an improved sealed terrarium.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improvedsealed terrarium with a mesh screen for retaining the granular materialin place in the terrarium during transport and use.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of animproved sealed terrarium in which the decorative cover is held in placein the terrarium.

Still another object of the present invention is the provision of animproved sealed terrarium with a granular material retainer which doesnot hinder the growth and propagation of plants within the terrarium.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill be readily appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art as thesame becomes better understood by reference to the following detaileddescription when considered in connection with the accompanying drawingsin which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of theimproved terrarium of the present invention, and

FIG. 2 shows a section of the device taken on line 2--2 of FIG. 1looking in the direction of the arrows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings,wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding partsthroughout the'several views, there is shown a sealed terrarium which,for purposes of description, is identifled by reference numeral 10. Thisterrarium is assembled from a container 12, which in the presentembodiment is formed from transparent glass material so that theinterior of the container 12 can be easily viewed. The container 12 hasa circular opening 14 positioned at the opposite end from a flattenedsupport surface 16 provided to enable the container 12 to rest atequilibrium on a flat surface. A dome-shaped closure member 18 with adownwardly extending cylindrical skirt 20 is provided to seal theopening 14 of the container 12. To aid in the sealng of the container12, a quantity of sealing adhesive 22 can be applied annularly aroundthe junction of the closure member 18 and container 12. s

The terrarium 10 illustrated is of a type which is assembled with aquantity of granular material 24 in which plants will root and grow. Inaddition, moisture is added to the material 24 and plants 27 are plantedtherein. Since the terrarium 10 is of the sealed type, the moisture inthe plants will be absorbed by the roots of the plants and released intothe upperportion of the terrarium The moisture will subsequently returnto the material 24 and be re-utilized by the plants making the terrariumself-sufficient.

Due to the fact that the terrarium 10 is sealed, it is impossible torepair or rearrange the material 24 and plants 27 therein, withoutbreaking the seal 22 of the terrarium. This impossibility becomesimportant when considering the fact that the plants 26 and granularmaterial 24 can become disoodged when the terrarium 10 is moved ortransported.

To eliminate this problem, the terrarium is provided with a mesh screen26. This screen is preferably formed from a Ks inch aluminum (or othernon-corrosive material) wire mesh which has been coated with adhesiveand placed in contact with the granular material 24 to adhere saidmaterial 24 to the screen 26. The screen 24 is then formed to extendacross the interior of the container l2 and is provided with flanges 28which are adhesively attached to the interior walls of the container 12.As can be seen in FIG. 2, this mesh is positioned on the upper surfaceof the material 24 to hold the materials in place. The plants 27 areinserted through the mesh of the screen 26 or openings can be formedtherein for larger. plants. Adhesively attached to the upper surface ofthe screen 26 is a ground cover material 30, which can be formed ofrocks, moss and the like. In this manner the screen 26 is completelyhidden from view, yet retains the ground cover material 30, plants 27,and granular material 24 in place in the terrarium while allowingariation of the soil, permitting moisture transfer to and from the soil,and permitting rooting and sprouting through the screen so that theplants can flourish and propagate within the terrarium.

From the foregoing it can be seen that the terrarium structure disclosedprovides a means for preventing disruption of the invention of theterrarium without detracting from the appearance or hampering theperformance thereof.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosurerelates to only a preferred embodiment of the invention and thatnumerous modifications or alterations may be made therein by those ofordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States LettersPatent is:

1. A terrarium for growing and exhibiting plants and the likecomprising:

a. a container defining an interior volume, said container having anopening at one end thereof providing access to the interior of saidcontainer, support means on said container for supporting saidcontainer, a transparent portion on said container for viewing theinterior thereof,

b. closure means sealing said opening of said container,

c. screen means permanently attached to the interior of said containerand dividing said interior into first and second portions,

d. a quantity of moist granular growing medium filling said firstportion for planting said plants and the like,

e. ground covermeans attached to and covering said screen on the side ofsaid screen adjacent said second portion, and

f. downwardly turned tabs on said screen means and adhesive attachingsaid tabs to the interior of said container wherein the terrarium may beshipped without dislodgement of the growing medium.

2. A terrarium as defined in claim 1 wherein said screen means is amesh.

3. A terrarium as defined in claim 2 wherein said screen means isconstructed from non-corrosive material.

4. A terrarium as defined in claim 2 wherein said screen means isconstructed from aluminum material.

5. A terrarium as defined in claim 1 additionally comprising sealingmeans for sealing between said closure and said container.

l i III 0' i

1. A terrarium for growing and exhibiting plants and the likecomprising: a. a container defining an interior volume, said containerhaving an opening at one end thereof providing access to the interior ofsaid container, support means on said container for supporting saidcontainer, a transparent portion on said conTainer for viewing theinterior thereof, b. closure means sealing said opening of saidcontainer, c. screen means permanently attached to the interior of saidcontainer and dividing said interior into first and second portions, d.a quantity of moist granular growing medium filling said first portionfor planting said plants and the like, e. ground cover means attached toand covering said screen on the side of said screen adjacent said secondportion, and f. downwardly turned tabs on said screen means and adhesiveattaching said tabs to the interior of said container wherein theterrarium may be shipped without dislodgement of the growing medium. 2.A terrarium as defined in claim 1 wherein said screen means is a mesh.3. A terrarium as defined in claim 2 wherein said screen means isconstructed from non-corrosive material.
 4. A terrarium as defined inclaim 2 wherein said screen means is constructed from aluminum material.5. A terrarium as defined in claim 1 additionally comprising sealingmeans for sealing between said closure and said container.